Sudbury home improvement company tries to regain licence

The owner of a Sudbury home improvement company, who had his business licence revoked, was back at City Hall Wednesday trying to get it reinstated.

Dave Murray, of EcoLife Home Improvements, was denied a reinstatement by the City of Greater Sudbury, as he is still facing fraud charges in connection with a series of renovations that were not finished.

People who were personally affected by the unfinished work from his company say they are pleased his business licence remains revoked.

Monica Rossmann Turcotte is one of the local homeowners that feel victimized by EcoLife.

"After so many months of dealing with the EcoLife thing, for council to actually see what a lot of his victims have been going through, and to be in our side, to revoke his license, that's huge. I think that speaks volumes," said Rossmann Turcotte.

"At least we know where this council stands and how they feel about him having to operate in Sudbury," said David & Liette Barrett, another couple that feels victimized by the company.

"It was a great avenue for the members of the public who have been affected by this company to come forward and talk to council and provide their experience to support staffs decision," said Melissa Laalo, City of Greater Sudbury.

City Councillor Bill Leduc says with the amount of people that have come forward, he estimates the dollar damage is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and he says that money will probably never be recouped.

"We wish we could do something more for these victims, but the best thing to do is always check out your contractor, look at the contract, and look at the minimum down payment and always use your credit card. Don't pay cash or cheque. With your credit card, you have fraud insurance," said Leduc.

Dave Murray was not present at Wednesday's hearing before the city. However, he has previously stated to CTV News that his problems with EcoLife not completing contracted renovations stemmed from a sudden backup of jobs after the Ford government imposed a September 2018 deadline for the Green Rebate Plan, which had been initiated by the former Liberal government.